Anonymous wrote:I think this depends so much on the individual day care. I'd pick a great in home over a center if I could: cozier (I hate the institutional feel of day cares with tile floors, sinks in the classroom, not enough windows, etc), generally more one on one feedback from the person who cares for your kid, usually smaller classes, and you know they're getting paid ok.

But I just haven't been impressed with the safety measures in many. I toured a few that were definitely not toddler proofed, and I took my kid out of one this year due to lack if mask wearing during covid. We've wound up with centers with very strong safety and hygiene practices despite less communication (for my older son, who went to a great homier small center) and a more institutional setting (for my younger son, who'll be starting at a new one when the covid numbers decrease a bit more this spring).

Interesting, we actually we're frustrated with lack of communication at the in-,home we were at temporarily. We had no idea what she ate or did all day versus the center where there is an app and a report each day. Not saying this to contradict you - just to agree that each provider is different. There is very little you can generalize about them.

I think this depends so much on the individual day care. I'd pick a great in home over a center if I could: cozier (I hate the institutional feel of day cares with tile floors, sinks in the classroom, not enough windows, etc), generally more one on one feedback from the person who cares for your kid, usually smaller classes, and you know they're getting paid ok.

But I just haven't been impressed with the safety measures in many. I toured a few that were definitely not toddler proofed, and I took my kid out of one this year due to lack if mask wearing during covid. We've wound up with centers with very strong safety and hygiene practices despite less communication (for my older son, who went to a great homier small center) and a more institutional setting (for my younger son, who'll be starting at a new one when the covid numbers decrease a bit more this spring).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just not true that a center doesn’t provide as close a bond between the kid and the caregiver. My daughter loves her teachers and they really seem to care about the kids.

Yes but there are multiple daycare workers and at a center they change classes yearly. It’s different than being at an inhome for 4 or 5 years. Inhome daycare owners are paid much better too.

I think the biggest difference is that there’s no cameras. Moms always were upset about not being able to watch their kids on video all day.

Lol most centers don't have video cameras.There are massive privacy issues with that. Though yes the Kiddie Academy parents love it.

In-home owners yes make a little more money than center teachers but their costs are high and the assistants do not get paid well. And there is a downside to not being able to progress to a different classroom as the child gets older. I found DD was happier when she was able to do more age appropriate activities. With centers, it is important to find ones with low turnover, and yes they do exist.
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Anonymous wrote:I think it’s just not true that a center doesn’t provide as close a bond between the kid and the caregiver. My daughter loves her teachers and they really seem to care about the kids.

Yes but there are multiple daycare workers and at a center they change classes yearly. It’s different than being at an inhome for 4 or 5 years. Inhome daycare owners are paid much better too.

I think the biggest difference is that there’s no cameras. Moms always were upset about not being able to watch their kids on video all day.

I think it’s just not true that a center doesn’t provide as close a bond between the kid and the caregiver. My daughter loves her teachers and they really seem to care about the kids.

Anonymous wrote:Inhome daycare providers have really made it their business and career to love babies and toddlers and raise them. A bit different than the usual daycare worker. Of course there are bad inhomes, you have to tour them. My kids adore our inhome lady. If she closes or is sick, there are multiple backups. They all provide backup coverage for each other. I’ve never been left without care.

+1 I am one of the PPs who chose center - yes the in-home we considered had backup care so it does not close more often than the center. Some centers might have weird closures too so this is an issue to check with any provider.

Inhome daycare providers have really made it their business and career to love babies and toddlers and raise them. A bit different than the usual daycare worker. Of course there are bad inhomes, you have to tour them. My kids adore our inhome lady. If she closes or is sick, there are multiple backups. They all provide backup coverage for each other. I’ve never been left without care.

Anonymous wrote:We've had a small in-home daycare provider. It was great when they were very young- they got a lot of personal attention and didn't get sick as often due to the small number of other kids.

But we've kept them there too long. We should have moved them out at 2. Not even socialization or structured activities. And the pandemic caused us to push off moving them to a center even longer.

Ours has a toddler curriculum where they learn the alphabet, counting etc.

We've had a small in-home daycare provider. It was great when they were very young- they got a lot of personal attention and didn't get sick as often due to the small number of other kids.

But we've kept them there too long. We should have moved them out at 2. Not even socialization or structured activities. And the pandemic caused us to push off moving them to a center even longer.

It really depends on the individual providers. Most important thing for a young baby is warm caregivers with low ratio of children to caregivers. For us, that happened to be the center vs the in home where we were offered a spot.

I recommend looking at those factors, and follow your intuition. We went with the place that we got the best feeling about, where the teachers were happy and the facility, though not modem or fancy, was kept clean, organized and attractive. It's worked out great for us.

Selfishly, I do love the fact that our center has an app where they send photos throughout the day (and they send automatically to my mother too). But that's about me, not baby. Another benefit if a center is there is more supervision because there is a director. But I think the benefits of that are limited.

I’d look for an in home with separate areas for daycare (ours had a dedicated entrance, playroom, eating area, nap room and fenced yard.) as well as an assistant. Also there are inhomes which have lower than required ratios but charge more. These are often worth it if you can afford it as you get a nanny share like environment. When my kid was an infant there was a 2:1 ratio.

Pros:

*smaller, more familiar home-like environment

* closer teacher to child bond since the caregiver often cares for the child the entire day

*fewer cases of illnesses since the child is exposed to fewer children

*small group size with mixed age groups

*a more flexible caregiver


Cons: Trust & Interview process is much important.

*need to ensure you are getting an experienced & knowledgeable caregiver

*need to look for a developmentally appropriate environment that can grow with your child for a few years

*possibly more exposure to television - ask about electronic use

* often one caregiver with little supervision

*who else is in the house?

Lots of in home daycare haters on DCUM, but I loved ours. We established a really good relationship with our provider (and her mother was her assistant so it truly felt like they were family). I appreciated that it was five children max, so the kids got a lot of attention, she provided home cooked food, they spent a ton of time outside, had a separate room for napping. Also she was able to spend a lot of time talking to us about what happened that day, what our children needed, how they were doing, giving us tips, etc. She also babysat for us (and still did pre-pandemic). We adored her, she's still part of the family. Both of our kids started full=time preschool at 3 and 2, so we're aware of how centers are run and we loved having them in a more structured environment as preschoolers. Definitely would not have kept them at the in home at those ages because they would have been bored. Kids aged out of our in home at 2-3.

Full disclosure — I am the mom of a kid who has been in a center since she was 10 months old (she’s 4 now).

That said, the benefits of a center, IMO are:

- More adults supervising your kid.

- If one teacher gets sick or leaves, there’s another teacher there. In contrast, if your in-home provider gets sick, you’re left without childcare.

- More accountability, though this depends on how the center is licensed and accredited.

I think an in-home daycare can implement a good curriculum, so I’m not really going into that. For us, it was more about the above points.

Besides cost, what are the major pros and cons for selecting an in home daycare vs center? Serious question since I’m a first time mom